Slot and slug for check-controlled apparatus.



H. GOETZ.

, SLOT AND SLUG FOR CHECK CONTROLLED APPARATUS.

APPLIGATION FILED MAR. 5, 1914.

1,115, 1, I v v Patented 1x1013 914.

girl/asses HENRY Gonrz; or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

SIIO'I AND SLUG FOR CHECK-CONTRQLLED APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 3, 1914.

. Application filed March 5, 1914. Serial No. 822,753.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY Gon'rz, a citizen of the United States, residing at-Chi cago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain-new and useful Improvements in Slots and Slugs for Check-Controlled. Apparatus, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to check-controlled apparatus, such as coin-controlled substation telephone instruments, and is concerned with means for protecting the entry-way or entry-ways for the coin or coins against the use of unauthorized checks.

It will be apparent that my invention is applicable to any kind of checlccontrolled apparatus, such as the telephone toll box heretofore mentioned, checkcontrolled scales, and vending machines, but for the purposes of disclosing my invention to those skilled in the art and to the end of simplicity in description, I shall explain my invention as applied to a check-controlled substation telephone instrument.

I am aware that it is old in the art to i provide guards at the' mouth of a coin chute in order to prevent the insertion of any check, slug, or disk which is not provided with means specifically and especially adapted and intended to cooperate with these guards. Thus, projections arranged according to a certain code are arranged in the slot, and it is possible to insert only slugs or checks which are provided with grooves through which these projectionsv may pass when the check or slug is inserted in the slot or chute. It is usual to apply these check chute guards as an auxiliary device in the nature of an attachment and a simple plate having a slot therein with the guards extending into the slot has been ample for attachment to the ordinary type of check-controlled apparatus wherein the checks are adapted to be inserted end-wise into a narrow slot. However, there is a type of check-controlled apparatus in which the coins are not inserted end-wise, but in which they are inserted fiat, and this is particularly so where coins of difi'erent denominations may be emp10-yed,-that is, where a plurality of receiving slots or chutes are provided and are respectively adapted for cent piece, tencent piece and twenty-fivecent piece of Un ted States'money. This type of instrument 1s particularly desirable for numerous reasons, in that it is difiicult, if

not impossible, to insert wires or picks in the slots'and it is the object of my inventlon to utilize this type of. coin-controlled instrument and still be able to use the grooved slug for preventing the insertion of fraudulent checks or slugs.

My invention provides a pocket which is secured before the receiving opening for the checks, the checks being insertible in said pocket only through a protected slot. Thus, the check or slug is first inserted into the auxiliary pocket and then is moved from the pocket to the coin receiving opening of the chute from whence it drops to the checkcontrolled mechanism below.

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the device of my invention. Fig. 2 is a view taken on the plane of the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the plane of the line 33 of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow 4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a rear view of the attachment plate removed from the main housing, and Fig. 6 is a face view of the slug employed.

The casing of the check-controlled mechanism is illustrated at 7 and it is sufficient for the purposes of the description of this invention to illustrate the composite coin chute memberv 8 which is secured to the under side of the top wall of the casing 7 by means of screws 9-9, it being understood that the chutes 10, 11 and 12, for quarters, dimes and nickels, respectively, for instance, lead to the controlled mechanism below.

Since the details of this controlled mecha-,

nism are not a part of this invention, it is unnecessary to enter into any description of them. Suffice it to. say that the dropping of the coins into the chutes 10, 11 and 12 secures the proper operation.

Each of the chutes 10, 11 and 12 registers with a coextensive slot13 in the top wall of the casing 7 and mounted upon the top wall of the casing 7 is a coin receiving housing 14 which is secured over the three slots 13 by means of rivets 15. In the front face of the housing 14, over each one of the slots 13, is a rather deep-circular depression 16 and the bottom of each of these depressions commu nicates with the slot 13, and consequently with the chutes 10, 11 or 12 as the case may be, by meansof a passageway 17 Each depression 16 is made of a definite size to fit the size of the particular coin for which it is adapted, and acoin may thus be inserted flat in the depression 16 and after being pushed back therein may slide down the narrow passageway 17 through the slot 13,

and the corresponding chute, these passageways and slots being, of course, adapted to be snugly fitted by the coin or slug. Thus it will be seen that the coin or slug is inserted flat in the circular depression and,'after being pushed back therein, passes end-wise of these pockets registering with one'of the depressions 16 in the front face of the housing 14, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. At the top of each pocket 21 a slot-22 is provided and each of these slots is provided with the inward projections 23 therein, these projections being ofi'set as illustrated in Fig.

4. The circular wall 24 of each of the pockets 21 registers exactly with the corresponding part of the circular wall of the corresponding depression 16 so that when a check rests on edge in a pocket 21 it may readily be moved into depression 16 and this is accomplished by inserting ones finger through an opening 25 which is provided through the attachment plate 18 at each of the pockets, these openings 25, of course, being smaller than the respective coins so that the checks will not drop out of the pockets.- It will now be noted that the grooves 26'26 on the opposite faces of the check 27, illus-' trated in Fig. 6, cooperate with the projections 2323 for each slot 22, so that only checks having this particular groove arrangement may be inserted through the slots 2222 and thus all slugs inserted into the pockets must pass the test of the code. .Once n the pockets, the user of the instrument lnserts his finger through the proper opening 25 to transfer the check from the pocket 21 to the depression 16 and from that depres- S1011, as has been explained, the checks pass down to the check-controlled mechanism below. If desired, the auxiliary pocket and guard may be applied to only one of the three coin chutes and in such a case the attachment plate 18 would pass over only a part of the front face of the housing 14. However, I have illustrated guards for all the denominations employed in the particular instrument shown.

I claim:

1. In combination, a housing having a depression for the reception 'of a slug in the front face thereof, a chute leading downwardly from said depression, a plate attached to said housing, said plate having a pocket in the rear face thereof registering with said depression and having a slot leading to said pocket, permanent projections extending into said slot, and a slug formed to cooperate with said projections so as to admit of the passage through said slot of a definitely formed slug, but no other slug, said plate having an opening therethrough smaller than said slug and leading into said pocket whereby access may be had to said slug to move it from said pocket to said depression from whence it may drop into said chute.

2. In combination, a housing having a plurality of coin receiving depressions from each of which a chute leads, a plate secured to" the face of said housing over said depressions, said plate having a flange extending over and resting upon the top of said housing and having a pocket registering with each of said depressions and a slot in the top thereof leading to such pocket, each slot having projections therein, and slugs having grooves in the faces thereof for cooperation with saidlprojections, said plate having openings therein connecting with each pocket through which openings the slugs may be moved digitally into alinement with the connecting chute.

3. In combination, a slug chute, a circular depression leading to said chute, said de pression having its bottom wall flush with the wall of the chute, a plate secured over said depression, said plate having a pocket therein registering with said depression, the combined depth of said pocket and depres sion being less than the diameter of said depression, said plate having a guarded slot leading to said pocket and a restricted opening in the side thereof, through which access may .be had to a slug in said pocket to move such slug from said pocket into said depression.

4. As an article of manufacture, an attachment for a vending machine, said attachment comprising a coin-receiving housing with a depression therein and containing a coin chute having one wall continuous with the bottom of said depression, and a plate secured to the face of said housing,

said plate having a pocket registering with said depression, and a slot to said pocket, said slot having projections therein to guard said pocket, said .plate having an opening connecting with the pocket through which the slug may be digitally pushed against the bottom Wall of said depressi "a so as to drop into said chute.

side of said plate to allow movement of a slug digitally from said pocket against the back wall of said depression.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe 15 my name this 28th day of February, A. D., 1914.

HENRY GOETZ. I

Witnesses:

AUGUST H. L. ARNDT, CAMERON A. WHITSETT. 

